The USB Serial Adapter has an onboard micro-USB connector and 5 pins including RX (for receiving data from the computer) and TX (for transmitting data). 5V, Ground and a Reset pin are also exposed.

Status lights include power, RX and TX activity.

The adapter can easily connect to the ArduinoMini.

An onboard polyfuse limits the current to 500mA and protects the host computer from short circuits.

The ATmega16U2 firmware source code is available. The ATmega16U2 is loaded with a DFU bootloader, refer to the DFU mode section. You can then use Atmel's FLIP software (Windows) or the DFU programmer (Mac OS X and Linux) to load a new firmware if required. You can use the ISP header with an external programmer (overwriting the DFU bootloader). See this user-contributed tutorial for more information.

Schematic & Reference Design

Automatic (Software) Reset

The USB Serial connector is designed in a way that allows it to reset an attached board by software running on a connected computer.The external reset line mirrors the DTR line of the virtual serial device on the computer. It's typically connected to the reset line of the connected board allowing the board to reset on upload.

This setup has other implications. When the board is connected to either a computer running Mac OS X or Linux, it resets each time a connection is made to it from software (via USB). While it is programmed to ignore malformed data (i.e. anything besides an upload of new code), it will intercept the first few bytes of data sent to the board after a connection is opened. If a sketch running on the board receives one-time configuration or other data when it first starts, make sure that the software with which it communicates waits a second after opening the connection and before sending this data.

The pinouts on the connector are compatible with a standard FTDI

DFU mode

First connect the Arduino to the computer using the USB port.

To reprogram the atmega16u2, you must put the chip into DFU (Device Firmware Update) mode.

Shortcut briefly the pin 5 and 6 of the ICSP header as shown:

The pinouts on the connector are compatible with a standard FTDI header (as well as the Adafruit and Sparkfun USB-Serial adapters).

Educational Workshops

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Using a few bits and pieces, this ordinary coffee grinder now has two presets to run the motor for a programmable length of time. The idea being that the grinder running for a set amount of time will deliver a certain amount of coffee each button press meaning the beans can be stored unground, keeping them fresher for longer.
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Enter the Hipster Coaster in all its glory.
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